Business Gorillas posted:

idk what the hell you're going to do with fantasy though because they so completely and entirely poisoned the well on that one idk how you even begin to start repairing the damage you've done to your own brand.

Avenging Dentist posted:

This right here is the problem. People are actually leaving 40k because of how badly AoS was botched.

Business Gorillas posted:

im wondering if it would be worth it to make a new hams thread for all of the jabronis that'll come over to this thread when total war comes out

Business Gorillas posted:

i'd be willing to argue that everyone who wouldn't tolerate it already got chased away by the inclusion of superheavies, flyers, and ballooning army size in the first place.

Atlas Hugged posted:

Penny Arcade is probably the prime example of two guys who had no idea what they were doing at the birth of a new industry who got insanely lucky because someone who actually knew what they were doing took over.

quote:

Gary Gygax, co-inventor of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and partner in the company TSR, had been sent to Hollywood in 1982 to work on licensing the Dungeons & Dragons brand, leaving the day-to-day operations of TSR to his fellow board members, Kevin and Brian Blume. While in Hollywood, he was involved in the making of the Dungeons & Dragons animated television show and exploring the possibility of a film adaptation of the game. In the course of his work, Gygax met Flint Dille, with whom he collaborated on a series of choose-your-own-adventure-type novels and a script for an unmade Dungeons & Dragons film. In 1984, Gygax was alerted to the fact that TSR was $1.5 million in debt and the Blumes were looking for a buyer. In an attempt to bring new investment money into the company, Gygax asked Flint Dille to arrange a meeting with his sister, Lorraine Williams.

Although Williams turned down Gygax's invitation to invest in TSR, Gygax did hire her, on the basis of her management experience, to manage TSR. Williams was able to deal with TSR's creditors and get money flowing back into the company again. Gygax subsequently engineered the removal of Kevin Blume as CEO and the removal of three of Blume's friends from the board as well but, in an act many saw as retaliation, the Blumes soon sold their stock to Williams, making her the majority shareholder. Gygax tried to fire Williams and replace her with his future wife, Gail Carpenter, but was advised not to. Gygax tried to have the sale of stock declared illegal; after that failed, Gygax sold his remaining stock to Williams and left TSR at the end of 1985. Williams formally took over TSR in 1986.

quote:

Games Workshop once had this to say regarding Warhammer:

quote:

The Warhammer world is rich with history and legend, aeons of bloodshed and conflict have shaped both its surface and its denizens into a world of relentless battle. It is the battleground between the forces of Order and Destruction, where vast armies clash in mighty battles with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Many races wage war upon the face of world, each fighting for a different cause or purpose. Some fight for freedom and the safety of their citizens, some for the joy of slaughter or to slake an insatiable thirst for carnage. Others do battle for the entertainment of the Dark Gods, seeking the enslavement of all mortals.

Warhammer is the Game of Fantasy Battles, a thrilling test of tactical skill and strategy. Warhammer is far more than just a game though, it's also an absorbing hobby where you can collect, model and paint armies of exquisite miniatures.

Getting started in the Warhammer hobby might seem daunting, but you'll quickly find that after a game or two, and a little while painting it's a compelling and enjoyable pastime - a sociable and engaging hobby. To find out more, and learn how to get started for yourself, read on.

While Warhammer had its faults, it was a game we played. Maybe we played it because we were deep into the setting complete with decades of world-building, were too stubborn to abandon the game of our youths, preferred the "crunch" and randomness of unpredictable moments, or simply uninformed as to what else was out there. The only thing that matters now is that Warhammer on the tabletop is dead. After being the premiere fantasy battle game for decades, it died a brutal death full of bad rules and worse writing.

This thread is less of a gaming thread and more of a memorial to things that once were with lots of bitter grumbling to what things have become.

WHAT HAPPENED?
(Short explanation of what happened during the end times goes here)

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
(The army snapshots from the original OP would go here as well as some explanation as to what happened to them in the End Times and where they are now in AoS)

FINDING A FANTASY GAME THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
(Links to other threads, the 9th Age, etc)

Milky Moor posted:

That's why I stopped, so, yeah.

Avenging Dentist posted:

We've actually progressed to a point where people are warning prospective players to get out before it's too late.

Business Gorillas posted:

i'd actually commit to making a seriouspost OP about barbies in their current state if we wanted to make a new thread to warn off the video game babies

edit: i think i was going to do this before but then the Great GBS Shitposter Purge happened and i stopped posting for like 3-4 months

Business Gorillas posted:

While Warhammer had its faults, it was a game we played. Maybe we played it because we were deep into the setting complete with decades of world-building, were too stubborn to abandon the game of our youths, preferred the "crunch" and randomness of unpredictable moments, or simply uninformed as to what else was out there. The only thing that matters now is that Warhammer on the tabletop is dead. After being the premiere fantasy battle game for decades, it died a brutal death full of bad rules and worse writing.

This thread is less of a gaming thread and more of a memorial to things that once were with lots of bitter grumbling to what things have become.

WHAT HAPPENED?
(Short explanation of what happened during the end times goes here)

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
(The army snapshots from the original OP would go here as well as some explanation as to what happened to them in the End Times and where they are now in AoS)

FINDING A FANTASY GAME THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
(Links to other threads, the 9th Age, etc)

TKIY posted:

Not to mention what do you do with all the round based models? They won't exactly rank into regiments.

Avenging Dentist posted:

This is "not bad" compared to other Mantic stuff? I'm almost afraid to look around:

Moola posted:

those drags are cute :3

Nebalebadingdong posted:

why is the middle dragon wearing a beret?

Radish posted:

I still don't know how this gets released.



It's better to not have anything at all than that since all it does is make people associate your entire company with trash. When Fantasy was still actually a thing about six years ago, I talked to people about Kings of War and models like these were always brought up as one of the reasons that they didn't want to start and honestly who can blame them? Who wants to spend money on a product that ugly and when you are an up and coming company you don't have the benefit of people knowing that the rest of your stuff looks better.

Nebalebadingdong posted:

why is the middle dragon wearing a beret?

Saint Drogo posted:

Mantic are also charging more for their lame big demon guy than GW do for their awesome plastic kit.

Nebalebadingdong posted:

I like that demon model

Saint Drogo posted:

Those drakons are apparently not so bad in a different colour scheme but their dwarfs and elves in general are just loving terrible, I really like some of their other armies though - ogres, goblins and some of the Abyssal stuff especially. the new naiads look like they might be great with a less awful colour scheme too.

Nebalebadingdong posted:

I like that demon model

quote:

Mantic are also charging more for their lame big demon guy than GW do for their awesome plastic kit

Nebalebadingdong posted:

I like that demon model

Slimnoid posted:

Comparatively, you can get two different kinds of winged devils from Reaper for almost a fifth the cost of Mantic. Heck, you could even get this guy who would be roughly the same size as the Abyssal Fiend, minus a pair of wings.

Avenging Dentist posted:

Avenging Dentist posted:

Yeah, but then you're working with a material with a very real chance of completely ruining your model if you end up using the wrong varnish on it. The number of times I've seen this brought up in the painting thread makes me extremely hesitant to put any real effort into a Bones model. I'd rather spend more money in exchange for having a better material to work with. (Besides, the Mantic demon looks like he's about the same size as a GW Lord of Change. The GW Bloodthirster's gotta be like twice the size, so that's not really a fair comparison.)

I honestly don't get why people like Mantic models. A few of their undead are ok, but everyone and their mother can do decent undead. Even if you suck at sculpting you can just say, "Oh well they're undead so that's why they look lovely and expressionless and kinda melty." People always bring up their necromancer as an example of a really great mini:



And while they're right, it's not a bad mini, I don't see why I'd rather have it than this dude, who costs £1 less but has £10 more character:



For that matter, why not roll with this awesome demon which you can buy for £25 (£5 less than Mantic) without the accessories:



Ok, sure he doesn't have wings, but who would argue with that dude? He rules!

(Both the non-Mantic figures above are from Otherworld Miniatures if you want to buy some.)

Iron Crowned posted:

I am pretty sure that's based on cover art from a 2ed D&D cover

richyp posted:

Totally agree on the character models and one off monsters but their plastic line troops are pretty decent and a total bargain compared to anything else I've come across. For 49 of the queens finest pounds I managed to get 20 skeletons, 20 zombies, 20 ghouls, 30 dwarves, 1 cannon, a rulebook and a metal necromancer (a different one than the one you posted and I can't find him on Mantic's site).

While they're not super amazingly detailed and as you say a skeleton, zombie and ghoul are pretty standard fantasy fair they're at least on par with GW's equivalents, the dwarves not so much.

Slimnoid posted:

I have a bunch of their dwarfs from the old two-player box set and they're acceptable, if a bit plain. They don't have the more distinct "dwarfy" look like GW has/had for their line, but they also aren't walking beards with helmets. I wouldn't call them hideous or anything, unlike the elves which are just terrible.


Same. It reminds me of TSR-era devils Baatezu, which has a certain old-school goofy charm.

Edit:


Which plastic kit are you talking about? Because the GW Bloodthirster is $115, whereas Mantic's is $50. For the size you get it's the cheaper option by more than half.

Avenging Dentist posted:

I honestly don't get why people like Mantic models.